Page 3490 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 15 November 2006
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
think we should be supporting you as best we can. I look forward to working with the government to ensure that that happens.
DR FOSKEY (Molonglo) (10.56): I thank Mr Gentleman for the motion as well. I agree, to an extent, with what he has proposed. On the face of it, it would seem to be a no-brainer to support it. I disagree with clause (3) of the motion, after a little bit of research revealed the complexities that are not captured by the motion. As members are aware, there has been an amendment circulated in my name.
This particular clause assumes that all deaf or hard of hearing children will eventually be able to hear with medical intervention. But hearing can never be 100 per cent assured, despite scientific advances. We must also recognise that not all parents of babies born deaf or hard of hearing want their children to use hearing devices at an early age.
The motion also argues that establishing hearing is highly valuable for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and necessary for them to be integrated into mainstream schooling. This issue is highly controversial within the deaf community.
It is highly likely that Mr Gentleman did not realise the permutations of his motion when he placed it on the papers, or perhaps the departmental briefing papers provided to him failed to pick up on these points. If that is the case, I urge the Minister for Health to ensure that the relevant public servants are provided with deaf awareness training, which is available locally through the ACT Deafness Resource Centre. For the time being, I would like to take this opportunity to provide a little bit of education about deafness. I move the following amendment to the motion:
(3) there are a variety of treatments available to new born babies diagnosed as deaf or hard of hearing, and the parents of the child should be informed of all available options.
Some of you could accuse me, I suppose, of being overly politically correct, but this is a significant issue within the deaf community, as anybody who has had anything to do with it would know. To me and to the deaf community it is a matter of rights and choice.
It is also a matter of celebrating a language—albeit a silent one—and a culture and diversity within our community. There is a fundamental distinction between the lifestyles and beliefs of those who are big D and little d deaf. To explain that terminology I will quote from an ABC radio transcript that went on to win a human rights award:
Big D deaf do not see being deaf as a disability. Rather, it is seen as a discrete, rich and triumphant culture that is so powerful it does not really need medical intervention. This community believes that being deaf is a good thing. There are parents out there who—
though it might be hard for us to believe—
cheer with joy when they discover that their child is deaf. Rather than feeling disadvantaged by deafness, they feel passionately proud of it.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .